SM-1 nuclear power plant
SM-1 nuclear power plant is a nuclear site in United States with 1 unit on record. None is currently operating.
Units
| Unit | Status | Type | Model | Gross MW | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SM-1 nuclear power plant | Retired | PWR | - | 2 | 1957 |
Unit by unit
Each unit's rating, type and milestone dates as recorded by the Global Nuclear Power Tracker, with any correction we made to it. A dash or "not disclosed" means the source does not give the value.
SM-1 nuclear power plant Retired
| Reactor type | Pressurised water reactor (PWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | not disclosed |
| Size class | Very small |
| Gross capacity | 2MW |
| Net capacity | not disclosed |
| Thermal output | not disclosed |
| Enrichment | 3–5% U-235 |
| NSSS vendor | not on record |
| Owner | US Department of Defense100% |
| Operator | United States Army |
| Construction start | 5 Oct 1955 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 8 Apr 1957 |
| Grid connection | 1 Jan 1957 |
| Commercial operation | 1 Jan 1957 |
| Permanent shutdown | 16 Mar 1973 |
SM-1 nuclear power plant in context
The one unit with both construction and grid dates on record took 1.2 years from construction start to grid connection; the median across all reactors connected in the 1950s is 3.5 years.
The nearest other tracked nuclear sites are Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant (67 km), Peach Bottom nuclear power plant (142 km) and Salem nuclear power plant (164 km).
Build time by unit
| Unit | Construction start | Grid connection | Years | Fleet median, same decade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SM-1 nuclear power plant | 1955 | 1957 | 1.2 | 3.5 (1950s) |
Nearest tracked nuclear sites
| Site | Country | Distance | Operating GW gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant | United States | 67 km | 1.8 |
| Peach Bottom nuclear power plant | United States | 142 km | 2.8 |
| Salem nuclear power plant | United States | 164 km | 2.5 |
How these are worked out: ranks use gross operating capacity; ages count from the start-up year on record, as on the age page; build times run from construction start to grid connection, as on the build-times page; ratings are the tracker's net and design net capacity, as on the uprates page. Distances are straight-line between exact positions, so a site with only an approximate position gets none. A unit missing a date or a rating is left out of the figure that needs it.
| Location | Virginia, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38.6765, -77.1466 |
| Elevation | about 0 mabove sea level |
| Setting | On the sea coast, 0.3 km from the water |
| Region | Northern America |
| Units by status | Retired: 1 |
Elevation is read at the listed coordinates from a 30 m terrain model (SRTM 30 m). Two independent models differ by a median of 6 m across our plants and by up to about 40 m on steep or coastal ground, and a point on a shoreline can read as sea level. Distance to the water is measured to a generalised 1:10 million coastline, so a few kilometres or less is not resolved. This is context, not a design-basis or flood-risk figure.
| Owners | US Department of Defense |
|---|---|
| Operators | United States Army |
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Sources
- Global Nuclear Power Tracker, Global Energy Monitor, August 2026 release , CC BY 4.0 · retrieved 2026-09-06
- GEM.wiki entry (further reading) , CC BY-SA 4.0, linked, not quoted
How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data